Global Security Alert

Submitted by ub on

Cities all over the world are on high alert for New Year's Eve. Hundreds of thousands of public safety, military and security officials are deployed around the globe to keep New Year's Eve revelers safe to welcome 2018. According to statistics, there have been 1,125 international terrorist attacks, resulting in 7,580 fatalities so far this year. https://storymaps.esri.com/stories/terrorist-attacks/

Here in The Big Apple an intense screening process with snipers, street closures and trained dogs to secure 2 million party animals who'll gather to watch the annual ball drop at midnight in Times Square.

In Las Vegas, hundreds of National Guard troops join 1,500 police officers to keep safe the city's casinos, resorts, and hotels. The security precautions to protect the expected crowd of more than 300,000 includes snipers and increased emergency response teams from previous years.

In Rio de Janeiro 12,000 cops, and military police will make sure there are enough police officers on duty.

In London, armed officers and canine units will patrol celebrations and the city's Underground subway system, although Metropolitan Police have received no specific threat. Steel and concrete barricades will ring main events that will be attended by an estimated 500,000 people.

In Germany, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, and Cologne will be enhanced police presence at all celebrations. They refused to reveal details.

In Africa, after at least nine people were killed Friday outside a church in suburban Cairo by a gunman on a motorcycle, Egyptian authorities have beefed up security for New Year's Eve and Orthodox Christmas.
In an attempt to prevent further terrorist attacks, the Interior Ministry has raised the security alert to the maximum level throughout the country. The ministry has ordered heightened security near vital institutions such as churches and embassies. More security patrols will be deployed to streets, squares and other areas where celebrations will be held.

In Istanbul, police arrested 120 people with suspected links to Islamic State militants ahead of the New Year's celebrations. The city has doubled the number of police officers on the streets to prevent a repeat of last year when a man armed with an assault rifle killed 39 Turks and foreigners at a nightclub. Police have also canceled some public celebrations in key districts of Turkey's largest city.

In India, 30,000 security personnel guard the popular gathering sites across Mumbai. In the southern tech hub of Bengaluru, officials plan to deploy more than 15,000 officers, as well as use drones, security cameras, and canine units. A 500-member, all-female police squad will also be deployed to ensure there is no repeat of last year when several women were harassed and molested in the streets by male revelers.

In Australia, one of the first places to ring in the new year, security officials are guarding against any kind of terror attack on New Year's Eve. Officials said police officers would be out in force on the ground, in the air, and on the sea as part of the largest security operation in the country. More than 1 million people are expected to gather in the center of Sydney and at least half that number in Melbourne to watch fireworks displays. Police said Melbourne's city center would be on lockdown and remain closed until 6 a.m. New Year's Day to protect the crowd. Police in Melbourne last month arrested a man for allegedly planning to shoot revelers on New Year's Eve.

The graph shows the top 50 countries ranked by the global terrorism index for 2017 so far.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/271514/global-terrorism-index/